Mark Marshall, president of Global Advertising & Partnerships at NBCUniversal, found himself in a unique position at the start of Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary season.

Speaking during a panel discussion at Advertising Week New York on Tuesday, Marshall said there was so much interest from buyers that he was able to pick and choose his preferred partners.

"This is not easy," he said of the overall experience for advertisers in the milestone season. "You don't have the same creative control, you know you're going to lean on the show in a different way. I had a lot of people, including someone I saw earlier today, who said they wanted to be a part of it and I told them they couldn't." He continued with a laugh: "We don't normally say that in the sales group. But I thought, 'Your brand doesn't have a sense of humor. Your brand doesn't have enough … You're going to be a pain in the ass.'"

Pointing to the panelists on stage from T-Mobile, Allstate, Volkswagen and Maybelline, Marshall added, “I think it’s great that these people signed on because their brands have the right tone to match this.”